'If you have a brain Mr Bush...'
2004-10-01 20:02
Saint-Die-Des-Vosges - A prominent member of Jordan's royal family used a trip to France on Friday to take issue with the official US attitude to his country - a key Middle East ally - and to question US President George W Bush's mental capacities.
"We need respect, intellectual tolerance, Mr president of the United States, of a meeting of minds - and if you actually have one, I'd like to see it," Prince Hassan bin Talal said.
The prince, an uncle to Jordan's King Abdullah II and an active member of intercultural committees, was speaking at an international geography festival in eastern France.
He was invited to speak to the event along with a former Israeli ambassador, Elie Barnavi.
Prince Hassan accused the Bush administration of "wanting to treat us like they own us".
Jordan is seen in Washington as a key ally in promoting the US vision for Israel and for Iraq.
Bush is fighting for re-election on November 2 largely on the way he carried out the US invasion and occupation of Iraq.